The National Security Agency violated privacy rules protecting the communications of Americans and others on domestic soil 2,776 times over a one-year period, according to an internal audit leaked by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden and made public on Thursday night.The violations, according to the May 2012 audit, stemmed largely from operator and system errors like “inadequate or insufficient research” when selecting wiretap targets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/us/nsa-often-broke-rules-on-privacy-audit-shows.htmlAlso see:Edward Snowden documents show NSA broke privacy rules
The US National Security Agency (NSA) broke privacy rules and overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in the past two years, according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden.The incidents resulted in the unauthorised electronic surveillance of US citizens, according to documents published by the Washington Post.Mr Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has leaked top secret documents to the US and British media.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23721818